OfficeMax: How to Use Blogs to Launch a Product

[tweetmeme]OfficeMax launched today a new product line by Peter Walsh, a professional organizer from the TLC show Clean Sweep. The product line, called [In]Place System, includes various organizing must-haves such as document wallets and file folders, portable file totes and rolling case files, and color-coded hanging files and expanding files that can be used alone or together as an organizational system. The line will be available exclusively in OfficeMax stores.

For this launch, OfficeMax focused on tapping the blogosphere to get pre-launch buzz for the product line. The steps the company used are:

The blogcast was intended to demonstrate the organizational system to these bloggers. Walsh and Krueger discussed organizational tips and strategies, and how [In]Place System products can be a solution to workplace clutter.

The strategy paid off. The campaign resulted in 65 blog posts, 1,020 Tweets and two YouTube videos, among other posts in the blogosphere. By reaching out to a passionate (and highly targeted) audience, OfficeMax was able to successfully get the word out about their new product line.

The focus of this new system is managing paperwork. I hate managing my paperwork but this new system from Peter Walsh actually has me excited to organize and declutter.Let me tell you why. All the systems fit together, work together, and expand together. You are not tied to one color scheme as all the pieces are transparent, which also make it easy for you to see what it is inside. You can grow your system as you go.

This is the kind of endorsement you’d want from your target audience before your product even hits the shelves!